Digital shopping cart abandonment is costing online retailers billions, with the global average rate at 70.19% (Baymard Institute, 2025).
Whether it’s unexpected fees or missing product data, this guide covers proven ways to reduce shopping cart abandonment.
Let me show you 11 tactics to fix cart abandonment and how Apimio’s PIM can help recover the lost revenue.
Why Is Shopping Cart Abandonment a Problem for Retailers in 2025?
Online shopping cart abandonment remains one of the biggest hurdles for e-commerce growth. When users abandon their carts, it’s not just a missed sale; it signals a broken experience.
With abandoned shopping carts accounting for over 70% of online transactions, the impact is significant: lost revenue, higher bounce rates, and reduced customer lifetime value.
So, why is cart abandonment bad? Because it points to deeper UX, data, and trust issues, fixing them can unlock significant growth.
What Causes Digital Shopping Cart Abandonment?
Before we dive into solutions, let’s break down the main reasons users abandon their shopping carts:
- Extra costs at checkout — 39%
- Forced account creation — 19%
- Confusing checkout process — 18%
- Payment security concerns — 10%
- Incomplete or inaccurate product information
A lot of these issues come down to one thing: customer experience. And that starts with accurate, reliable product data.
Want to Reduce Cart Abandonment for Good?
Apimio PIM helps you create a product experience that builds trust and converts browsers into buyers.
11 Practical Fixes to Reduce Cart Abandonment
Follow these 11 top practices to reduce digital shopping cart abandonment.
- Clearly Show Total Costs Upfront
- Allow Guest Checkout
- Add a Checkout Progress Bar
- Simplify Your Checkout Forms
- Use Recognizable Trust Badges
- Support Multiple Payment Methods
- Improve Website Load Speed
- Optimize the Mobile Checkout Experience
- Make Your Return Policy Easy to Find
- Automatically Save Cart Contents
- Ensure Product Information Is Complete and Accurate
1. Clearly Show Total Costs Upfront
Hidden fees are the number one reason shoppers abandon their carts. If taxes or shipping costs appear only at the final step, customers feel tricked.
Be transparent, display all costs on the product page or cart summary. Consider offering free shipping over a certain amount to encourage larger orders.
2. Allow Guest Checkout
Many customers abandon their purchases when forced to create an account. Some are shopping in a hurry; others simply don’t want to share more data.
Offering a guest checkout option removes this barrier. You can always prompt them to create an account after the sale, once you’ve earned their trust.
Invesp reports that 14% of users abandon their cart when forced to log in. (Invesp)
3. Add a Checkout Progress Bar
When shoppers don’t know how long a process will take, they get frustrated and drop off.
A simple progress indicator (e.g., Step 2 of 3) helps manage expectations. It also gives them a sense of control, reducing the chance of them backing out halfway through.
4. Simplify Your Checkout Forms
Too many fields make checkout feel like a chore. Focus on essential information only: name, address, contact, and payment.
Enable autofill for browsers and devices to speed up the process. The smoother the experience, the better your conversions.
5. Use Recognizable Trust Badges
Security is a top concern, especially during payment. Shoppers need to feel confident that their information is safe.
Shopify found that 61% of consumers have not purchased online due to a lack of trust badges, and 75% abandoned carts when they didn’t recognize the logos.
6. Support Multiple Payment Methods
Customers want to pay using their preferred method, whether that’s a credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or Buy Now Pay Later services.
If you only support limited options, you risk losing potential sales. Expanding your payment gateways makes checkout more flexible and inclusive.
7. Improve Website Load Speed
If your site takes longer than 3 seconds to load, nearly 57% of users will leave, and 80% won’t return. (Google/SOASTA Research)
A 1-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions, according to Portent. (Portent)
8. Optimize the Mobile Checkout Experience
More than 60% of online shopping today happens on mobile devices. (Statista, 2024)
Ensure your forms are mobile-friendly, buttons are easy to tap, and the layout is clean and simple. Test your checkout process on various devices to ensure consistency.
9. Make Your Return Policy Easy to Find
Shoppers often hesitate when they’re unsure about return options. Clearly displaying your return and refund policy builds trust.
If customers know they can send items back easily, they’re more likely to go through with the purchase.
10. Automatically Save Cart Contents
Not all shoppers are ready to buy right away. They might be comparing options, waiting for payday, or simply distracted.
Make sure their cart is saved, whether they’re logged in or not. Then use follow-up emails or retargeting ads to bring them back when they’re ready to purchase.
Retargeting ads have been shown to boost ad engagement by up to 10x and increase conversions significantly (Wishpond).
11. Ensure Product Information Is Complete and Accurate
One of the most overlooked causes of cart abandonment is poor product information.
High-quality product data builds trust and confidence in the buying decision.
Ready to Start Recovering Revenue?
Apimio PIM helps you deliver the product experience your shoppers expect—and remove the friction that drives them away.
Why PIM Matters for Cart Abandonment – How Do We Tackle It?
A Product Information Management (PIM) system helps retailers optimize the product experience, which is often overlooked when tackling shopping cart abandonment.
With a strong PIM software in place, you can:
- Display accurate, high-quality product details consistently
- Avoid user confusion that leads to abandoned carts
- Make updates across multiple channels from a single dashboard
- Reduce returns caused by misleading product specs
If you want to go beyond band-aid fixes, this is how you solve cart abandonment – how do we tackle it for real?
How Apimio PIM Helps Solve Digital Cart Abandonment
Apimio PIM is designed for growing retail brands that want to improve product experience and reduce lost sales.
With Apimio, you can:
- Manage all your product data from a single dashboard
- Automatically push updates to Shopify, marketplaces, and distributor channels
- Fix data gaps with bulk-edit tools and automation
- Improve product accuracy across your entire catalog
- Create rich product content that meets shopper expectations
Real-World Example: Healthy Parcel
Healthy Parcel, a wellness and nutrition retailer, was facing high cart abandonment and frequent product returns due to inconsistent product data.
Their specs varied across channels, and their product images were often outdated or missing.
After switching to Apimio PIM, they:
- Reduced product return rates by 22%
- Increased cart-to-checkout conversions by 14%
- Unified product data across 10,000+ SKUs
“Managing our product information has never been easier since we started using Apimio. We’ve seen a noticeable boost in customer satisfaction as a result.”
— Kareena – CEO, Healthy Parcel
Fix the Root of Online Shopping Cart Abandonment
Cart abandonment isn’t just a checkout problem; it’s a product experience problem. If your data is off, your checkout is slow, or your return policy is hidden, shoppers will leave.
Start with the easy wins: guest checkout, faster forms, clearer policies. But don’t stop there. To create a smooth journey from browsing to buying, invest in the right tools to manage your product data.
What to do next?
- See how PIM for brands can help you enhance your brand operations.
- See how PIM for retailers can help you double your sales and grow your business.
- Try Apimio PIM for free today and transform your ecommerce business!
- Read our blog posts to stay informed about the latest features and industry news.
- Book a demo to see how our PIM software can help your business operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do you fix a shopping cart abandonment?
You can reduce cart abandonment by offering guest checkout, sending cart recovery emails, showing clear return and shipping info, adding trust badges, and improving page speed, especially on mobile.
If 100 people add products to their cart and only 30 complete the purchase, the cart abandonment rate would be 70%, meaning 70 out of 100 didn’t finish checking out.
A good rate is usually below 60%, but this depends on the industry. The average is around 70%, so anything lower than that shows you’re doing better than most.
